Identification apparatus and identification method

• US 9,805,263 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2014
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Schneider, Klaus, Wagner, Mirko
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdi, Amara
• Application Number:
  US14/899,176
• Publication Number:
  US 20160140393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,281 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/06 Recognition of objects for industrial automation
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool

Abstract

An identification apparatus for identifying vehicles and/or vehicle components includes: an image signal receiving unit receiving from an image signal source an image signal containing image data of a vehicle and/or of at least one vehicle component; a memory unit storing data of vehicles and/or at least one vehicle component; a comparison unit comparing the image data received with image data of the data sets stored in the memory unit, and to identify those data sets which contain image data that match the received image data; and an image signal data generating unit which generate output image signal data for at least one output image, the output image signal data containing at least a portion of the received image data and data from the data sets stored in the memory unit which have been identified by the comparison unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing a user-interactive interface display regarding at least one vehicle component of a vehicle, the identification apparatus comprising:

a memory storing a respective data set for each of a plurality of vehicle components and storing a plurality of identifications of respective combinations of multiple ones of the data sets, wherein each of at least a subset of the data sets includes an image of the respective vehicle component with which the data set is associated;

an interface; and

processing circuitry;

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to;

receive via the interface image signals obtained from a camera;

begin a comparison of image data of the image signals with images of the data sets stored in the memory;

identify a subset of the data sets that is each determined in the begun comparison to include an image matching at least a portion of the image data of the received image signals;

determine which of the combinations includes at least a predefined threshold number of data sets of the identified subset of data sets;

use the determined combinations to determine information regarding identification of a model of the vehicle;

based on a result of the determination of the information regarding the identification of the model of the vehicle, continue the comparison of the image data of the image signals, limiting the continuation of the comparison to images of fewer of the data sets;

generate, and output to a display via the interface, the user-interactive interface display including an image included in the received image signals with data from the stored data sets that are identified in the continued comparison overlaid on the image, the overlaid data being graphically associated with respective portions of the displayed image identified as corresponding to a respective one of the at least one vehicle component, wherein each of at least one of the associated portions is a selectable region in response to selection of which additional information of the respective data set whose overlaid data is graphically associated with the respective region.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is additionally configured to output instructions to modify at least one of a position of the camera, an orientation of the camera, and an illumination, if none of the data sets stored in the memory is identified by the comparison as matching the image data.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is additionally configured to output instructions to modify at least one of a position of the camera, an orientation of the camera, and an illumination, if at least two of the data sets stored in the memory are identified based on the comparison as matching the image data and are of at least two different vehicle components such that the image data are not unambiguously associable with only one vehicle component.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the receipt of the image signals is via a wireless connection.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein the camera is part of at least one of a smartphone, a computer, and a set of data glasses.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim4, wherein the display to which the output is provided is a component of at least one of a smartphone, a computer, and a set of data glasses.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising the display to which the user-interactive interface display is output.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to respond to the comparison identifying a particular one of data sets as matching by outputting an instruction to adjust a condition of the camera to obtain new image data on the basis of which to re-perform the comparison of the same vehicle components imaged in the image data that has been matched to the particular data set.

7. A method for providing a user-interactive interface display regarding at least one vehicle component of a vehicle, wherein a memory stores a respective data set for each of a plurality of vehicle components and storing a plurality of identifications of respective combinations of multiple ones of the data sets, wherein each of at least a subset of the data sets includes an image of the respective vehicle component with which the data set is associated, the method comprising:

acquiring, by processing circuitry, image signals obtained from a camera;

beginning, by the processing circuitry, a comparison, by the processing circuitry, of image data of the image signals with images of data sets stored in a memory that stores a respective data set for each of a plurality of vehicle components and stores a plurality of identifications of respective combinations of multiple ones of the data sets, wherein each of at least a subset of the data sets includes an image of the respective vehicle component with which the data set is associated

identifying, by the processing circuitry, a subset of the data sets stored in the memory that is each determined in the begun comparison to include an image of the received image signals;

determining, by the processing circuitry, which of the combinations includes at least a predefined threshold number of data sets of the identified subset of data sets;

using, by the processing circuitry, the determined combinations to determine information regarding identification of a model of the vehicle;

based on a result of the determination of the information regarding the identification of the model of the vehicle, continuing, by the processing circuitry, the comparison of the image data of the image signals, limiting the continuation of the comparison to images of fewer of the data sets;

the processing circuitry generating and outputting the user-interactive interface display including an image included in the received image signals with data from the stored data sets that are identified in the continued comparison overlaid on the image, the overlaid data being graphically associated with respective portions of the displayed image identified as corresponding to a respective one of the at least one vehicle component, wherein each of at least one of the associated portions is a selectable region in response to selection of which additional information of the respective data set whose overlaid data is graphically associated with the respective region.